Claudia Leonardo has over 25 years’ experience in various branches of creative design and catering industry. For over 10 years she served as director of planning and design for the top leader in the fashion industry and clothing in Mexico working and partnering with The Julio Group. And during this time developed the brand concept doing the work of planning, design and procurement based in Paris, France and Milan, Italy. At the same time, Claudia grew the market boutiques in the southeast of the country becoming owner and managing/operating four entities in different states of the Republic with 8 stores.

15 years ago she began to collaborate in different design of restaurants and later participated as coordinator of special events and public relations for various concepts AM Restauranteros Mexico, where she was partner and operator of the company which came to grow into an important holding of 24 restaurants, where she still owns. Some of these are Bar Tomate, Ozaka, Cuines, Luca, La Bocha among others. In 2007 she moved to the United States and opened two concepts in The Woodlands, TX. Known as La Lupita Mexican Cuisine and Bar and Luca & Leonardo Ristorante Italiano. However, with the entrepreneurial mindset she realizes that concepts should be adapted to the local market demand and converted the concept I 00% Mexican to the concept Tex-Mex partnering with the famous Cyclone Anaya Mexican Kitchen group and developing the new concept Nick’s Fish Dive & Oyster Bar and currently operates as president of the company.

Claudia is an active member on the board of the family business, the leader in South American markets within the pharmaceutical industry named Comercializadora Farmaceutica of Chiapas and operats under the brand “Farmacias del Ahorro” (pharmacy of the savings); comparable to CVS and Walgreens in the U.S. Each facility in South America employs an on site Doctor and staff and administers care and services to millions of South Americans annually. The Company was formed by her father 30 years ago and is still owned by the family which operates more than 2,000 facilities across the countries. Her families’ facility operating brands are the largest Pharmacy operations and health care providers in South America, giving jobs to more than 15,000 employees.

Given her considerable restaurant and design experience and passion for the industry, Claudia is substantially qualified and is partnering with Cristopher to advance concepts development, as purposed, and The Grove is an organic growth of such partnering. All of AM Restauranteros concepts are high-end European mainly and fresh farm to market and ocean to table products, similar to Cristopher’s experience and concepts. Proprietary ideas of each, especially from Bar Tomate and other higher end concepts will be used to frame the design and personation of The Grove.